Adjustable shelving structure

ABSTRACT

In a shelving structure comprising vertical corner posts and shelves having end portions disposed between two opposite corner posts, each end of the shelf is supported by a piece of rigid wire extending in a groove across the under-side of the end portion of the shelf and having end portions bent upwardly and inwardly and enter holes in the front and back edges of the shelf. The bent end portions of the wire form vertically disposed protruding loop portions which extend into grooves in the corner posts and are positioned and supported vertically by pins inserted in horizontal holes intersecting the grooves in the corner posts.

O United States Patent 11 1 1111 3,785,591 Lundqvist Jan. 15, 1974 [54]ADJUSTABLE SHELVING STRUCTURE 3,295,695 1/1967 Carmstrom 211 143 [76] nentor: a d Oskar undq st, 7 rue 3,343,506 9/1967 Buchinder 108/107 EmlleYung Geneva Switzerland Primary Examiner-Bernard A. Gelak [22] Filed:Apr. 16, 1973 Assistant Examiner-Glenn O. Finch [211 pp No 351 587Attorney Robert E. Burns et al.

57 ABSTRACT [30] Foreign Application Priority Data I 1 h 1 t t t l n a se vlng s we ure compnsing ver lea corner Apr. 18, 1972 Sweden 5049/72posts and Shelves having end portions disposed be [52] U 8 Cl 108/109211/134 tween two opposite comer posts, each end of the shelf [51] A47b57/08 is supported by a piece of rigid wire extending in a [58] Fie'ld108 109 groove across the under-side of the end portion of the shelf andhaving end portions bent upwardly and in- 108/110 248/243 211/134 148wardly and enter holes in the front and back edges of 56] ReferencesCited the shelf. The bent end portions of the wire form verticallydisposed protruding loop portions which extend UNITED STATES PATENTSinto grooves in the corner posts and are positioned 1,829,009 10/1931iviadsen 108/109 X and suppgrted vertically by pins inserted inhorizontal holes intersecting the grooves in the corner posts. unqv1st.... 3,322.077 5/1967 Kovacik 108/111 7 Claims, 3 Drawing FiguresADJUSTABLE SHELVING STRUCTURE FIELD OF THE INVENTION The presentinvention relates to shelving and more particularly to shelvingstructures in which the ends of the shelves are adjustably connectedwith vertical corner posts.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Adjustable shelving structures are known inwhich the shelves are supported at selected vertical positions by meansof hooks or fittings which fit into the grooves or recessesin the cornerposts and support the shelves at the corners. For example, one type offittingcomprises a small angle bracket having a pin portion fitting intoa hole in the corner post. When the shelf is supported only at thecorners, the shelf itself must have sufficient structural strength in awidthwise direction to support the load of material placed on the shelf.This requires the shelves to be made of a strong and relatively heavymaterial which increases the weight and cost of the shelving structure.Moreover, the hooks, brackets and other fittings heretofore used inadjustable shelving structures are relatively expensive and arefrequently inconvenient to use.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is accordingly and object of the inventiontoprovide an adjustable shelving structure of simple, light andinexpensive design and particularly one in which the shelves are made ofchipboard or other inexpensive material having insufficient strength tobear on conventional hooks or fittings. In accordance with theinvention, a very simple and easy to assemble shelving structure isachieved by supporting the end of the shelf by a piece of rigid wirewhich extends beneath and across the shelf and has end portions whichare bent upwardly and inwardly and enter holes in the front and backedges of the shelf. The bends of the wire form vertically disposedprotruding loop portions whichenter vertical grooves in the corner postsand are supported by pins inserted in holes intersecting the grooves.Preferably the wire liesin a groove formed in the bottomof the shelf.With the construction in accordance with the invention, vertical andhorizontal forces acting on the shelf are distributed by the supportmeans throughout the width of the shelf. It isthus possible to form theshelves of chipboard or other inexpensive material having relatively lowstrength. Moreover, the stress on the support is reduced by the slightvertical and horizontal elasticity of the protruding portions of thesupporting wire. If the shelf is provided with recesses adapted toreceive the corner posts, theelasticity of the protruding portion of thewire makes it possible to hold the shelf snugly against the cornerposts.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The nature, object and advantages ofthe invention will be more fully understood from the followingdescription of a preferred embodiment shown by way of example in theaccompanying-drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a vertical section through one end of a shelf and two cornerposts.

FIG. 2 is a horizontal section of one of the-corner posts takenapproximately on the line Il-II of FIG. 1 with a corner portion of ashelf shown in plane view and;

FIG. 3 is a horizontal section and partial plan view similar to FIG. 2but showing a modification.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT FIG. 1 shows one end of a shelf 1fitted between two corner posts 2,3 and supported by means of a rigidwire 4. The two corner posts are held in fixed spaced relation to oneanother, for example by a panel or by cross rails. The rigid wire 4extends the full width of the shelf 1 and fits in a groove 6 on theunder-side of the shelf so that the wire is approximately flush with thebottom surface of the shelf. End portions of the wire 4 are bentupwardly and inwardly with the two inturned ends 7 and 8' of the wirereceived in holes 9 and 10 in the front and back edges respectively ofthe shelf 1. The bent portions of the wire form loop portions 11 and 12which protrude at opposite edges of the shelf and are received invertical grooves 13 and 14 formed in the corner posts 2 and 3. It willbe seen that the loop portions 11 and 12 are of U-shaped configurationwith approximately parallel horizontal portions connected by anapproximately vertical portion. The protruding loop portions 11 and 12of the rigid wire 4 rests on and are vertically positioned by pins 15and 16 which are fitted into horizontal holes 17 and 18 which areprovided in the corner posts 2 and 3 in such position as to intersectthe grooves 13 and 14. To permit adjustability as to the height of theshelf 1, a number of holes 17 and 18 are provided at spaced intervalsalong the corner posts 2 and 3.

, The supporting wire 4 while being somewhat resilient is sufficientlyrigid to provide support for the shelf 1 throughout its width. By reasonof this, the shelf can be made of relatively inexpensive material suchas chipboard. To facilitate assembly of the support wire 4 with theshelf, at least one of the holes 7,8 provided in the edges of the shelfhas a depth at least equal to the distance between the respective end 7or 8 of the wire 4 and the vertical portion of the respective protrudingloop portion of the wire 11 or 12. Moreover, the distance between thevertical portion of the protruding loop 11 or 12 to the opposite end 8or 7 of the wire 4 is approximately equal to the width of the shelf. Inthe construction shown in FIG. 1, both holes are of the same depth. Thewire 4 is assembled on the shelf by inserting one end portion 7 or 8 asfar as it will go in the respective hole 9 or 10 so as to permitinsertion of the opposite end of the wire in the opposite hole,whereupon the wire is brought to an approximately centered position.When the shelf is assembled with the corner posts as shown in FIG. 1,the wire 4 is held in approximately centered position by engagement withthe bottoms of the grooves 13 and 14. For this purpose the distancebetween the bottoms of the opposite grooves should be only slightly morethan the overall length between opposite bent-up portions of the wire 4.The wire 4 'is thereby held against longitudinal movement sufficient torelease wither of the inturned end portions 7 and 8 from the respectiveholes 9 and 10.

Each of the corner posts 2,3 is preferably provided with a second groove24 which is parallel to and spaced from the groove 14. This permitsadjustability by positioning the shelf support in either of the grooves.Alternatively, a panel can be fitted into the outer grooves 24. To allowthis, the cross rails between the corner posts 2 and 3 are not thickerthan the distance between the adjacent sides of the grooves 14 and 24 inthe corner posts.

The construction illustrated in FlG. 3 is like that of FIGS. 1 and 2except that the shelf 1 is provided at each corner with a right anglerecess having a surface 19 which faces the grooved face of the cornerpost and a second face which is parallel to the support wire 4 and facesa surface 21 of the corner post. The distance between the surface 20 andthe adjacent side of the protruding loop portion of the support wire 4is slightly less than the distance between the surface 21 and theadjacent side of the groove 14 of the corner post. The surface 20 isthereby held resiliently against the surface 21 of the corner post bythe inherent resilience of the support wire 4.

While a preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown on thedrawings as is herein particularly described, it will be understood thatvarious modifications can be made and that the invention is in no waylimited to the illustrated embodiment.

What I claim is:

l. A shelving structure comprising vertical corner posts, a shelf havingan end portion disposed between two of said corner posts, said cornerposts having longitudinally extending grooves in faces facing saidshelf, and means for supporting said shelf comprising a piece of rigidwire extending across under said end portion of the shelf and having endportions bent upwardly and entering holes in front and back edges of theshelf, said upwardly bent end portions of said wire having verticallydisposed protruding loop portions which are received in said grooves insaid corner posts, and means in said grooves for positioning andvertically supporting said loop portions.

2. A shelving structure according to claim 1, in which said wire fits ina groove on the under-side of said shelf.

3. A shelving structure according to claim 1, in which at least one ofsaid holes in the shelf edges extends inwardly of the respective end ofsaid wire, and in which the distance between the other end of said wireand the opposite upwardly bent end portion of the wire is approximatelyequal to the width of said shelf whereby said wire is assembled withsaid shelf by inserting an end of said wire into said one hole, movingsaid wire laterally of said shelf until the opposite end portion of saidwire clears the opposite edge of the shelf and inserting said oppositeend portion in the hole in said opposite edge of the shelf.

4. A shelving structure according to claim 1, in which any gap betweenthe upwardly bent end portion of said wire and the bottom of the groovein which it is received is less than the distance the respective endportion enters the respective hole in the shelf when said wire is insymmetrical position relative to said shelf.

5. A shelving structure according to claim 1, in which each of saidcorner postsis provided with holes intersecting said grooves and inwhich said positioning said supporting means comprises pins inserted inselected ones of said holes in said corner posts and engaged by saidprotruding loop portions of said wire.

6. A shelving structure according to claim 1, in which said corner postsare provided with two like parallel grooves in the same face, saidprotruding loop portions of said wire being received selectively in oneof said grooves.

7. A shelving structure according to claim 1, in which a corner of saidshelf is notched to receive said corner post, said notch having a facethat is parallel to said wire and is resiliently pressed against acorresponding face of said corner post by engagement of said protrudingloop portion in said groove in the corner post.

1. A shelving structure comprising vertical corner posts, a shelf havingan end portion disposed between two of said corner posts, said cornerposts having longitudinally extending grooves in faces facing saidshelf, and means for supporting said shelf comprising a piece of rigidwire extending across under said end portion of the shelf and having endportions bent upwardly and entering holes in front and back edges of theshelf, said upwardly bent end portions of said wire having verticallydisposed protruding loop portions which are received in said grooves insaid corner posts, and means in said grooves for positioning andvertically supporting said loop portions.
 2. A shelving structureaccording to claim 1, in which said wire fits in a groove on theunder-side of said shelf.
 3. A shelving structure according to claim 1,in which at least one of said holes in the shelf edges extends inwardlyof the respective end of said wire, and in which the distance betweenthe other end of said wire and the opposite upwardly bent end portion ofthe wire is approximately equal to the width of said shelf whereby saidwire is assembled with said shelf by inserting an end of said wire intosaid one hole, moving said wire laterally of said shelf until theopposite end portion of said wire clears the opposite edge of the shelfand inserting said opposite end portion in the hole in said oppositeedge of the shelf.
 4. A shelving structure according to claim 1, inwhich any gap between the upwardly bent end portion of said wire and thebottom of the groove in which it is received is less than the distancethe respective end portion enters the respective hole in the shelf whensaid wire is in symmetrical position relative to said shelf.
 5. Ashelving structure according to claim 1, in which each of said cornerposts is provided with holes intersecting said grooves and in which saidpositioning said supporting means comprises pins inserted in selectedones of said holes in said corner posts and engaged by said protrudingloop portions of said wire.
 6. A shelving structure according to claim1, in which said corner posts are provided with two like parallelgrooves in the same face, said protruding loop portions of said wirebeing received selectively in one of said grooves.
 7. A shelvingstructure according to claim 1, in which a corner of said shelf isnotched to receive said corner post, said notch having a face that isparallel to said wire and is resiliently pressed against a correspondingface of said corner post by engagement of said protruding loop portionin said groove in the corner post.